A council is gearing up for a renewed clampdown on van dwellers, following reports from council cleaners of being ‘mocked’ whilst tidying up after them. Bristol boasts one of the highest numbers of such dwellers in the country, with approximately 800 individuals residing in vehicles throughout the city.
Over 100 of these individuals have set up camp on Clifton Downs, one of the city’s most affluent areas, leading to escalating tension and resentment among local residents. Council staff have described the situation as reaching an ‘all time low’, as they work tirelessly to clean up after both dwellers and travellers on the site, only to be met with sarcastic ‘thanks’ for their efforts.
Housing chiefs at Bristol City Council are currently drafting a new ‘van dwellers’ policy, but it is not anticipated to be approved until the end of this year. The number of van dwellers surged during the Covid pandemic as rents became ‘unaffordable’ for many.
However, locals living around the Downs argue that their patience is wearing thin and that waiting until December for the new policy is too long. At present, six individuals from the council’s parks department are tasked with maintaining the Downs, but they claim their roles have essentially become those of a ‘full time bin crew’.
With no bins provided for the dwellers, all rubbish is crammed into small public bins. Area parks supervisor, Ben Skuse, stated that the ‘rubbish’ issue has been exacerbated in recent weeks by the arrival of additional travellers on the Downs.
He said: “Our ability to do so much of what we used to do is being denuded more and more and more. The team is demoralised. We have become like a full time. The crew is struggling to keep up. We’re actually regressing due to the frequency of Traveller visits. It’s been an unprecedented period.”
We hit a new low a couple of weeks ago when we thought our latest encampment had left the site. Immediately all resources were diverted to the site to start clearing up and the clearup was just unbelievable.
We got to about 2.30pm, to be confronted by a bunch more Travellers driving onto the site, laughing at my team and saying ‘thanks for clearing up for us’.
“This week, the Downs Committee, comprised of elected councillors and unelected members of the Society of Merchants Venturers, were urged to ‘act sooner’ to address the issue of the dwellers.In response, they said the matter was one for the council.Green councillor for Clifton, Paula O’Rourke stated: “Personally, I don’t think it’s going fast enough.
I would press for things to move faster. “We’re doing what we can. Would I like it to go quicker? Yes.”
Council staff are currently drafting a new policy for vehicle dwellers with councillors set to vote on approving measures in December.
Details of what the policy will involve have not yet been disclosed.
However, earlier this year, councillors discussed setting up service sites for van dwellers, complete with water, waste disposal and washing machines. These service sites could be located in supermarket car parks. Another plan is a new formal ‘vehicle dweller voices’ group, to represent views of van dwellers. Other sites could also be turned into dwelling areas.
Robert Bourns, master of the Merchant Venturers, stated: “The city council has changed its view in relation to the van dwellers and now accepts that this is a problem that must be dealt with, and as quickly as possible. But it does require alternative sites to be provided. I’m pretty sure that there has been a significant change in approach.”
